


Blooming Day

by versol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identical Flowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 16:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18876676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/versol/pseuds/versol
Summary: Everyone is born with a distinct, unique flower that grows with them their entire life, but only blooms once in the presence of their soulmate, who shares an identical bloom. Baekhyun found his once in a lifetime person in the crowded streets of Hongdae, but the stranger runs away before a chance can be taken.





	Blooming Day

**Author's Note:**

> woah, hey all ! Sorry I've been gone for a while. This is the reason, and it's my very first fest ever! I was really happy to be apart of it, despite there being some minor bumps, mod ONE has been incredible through everything and deserves so much love for running this fest despite their busy schedule. 
> 
> I also met some really, really lovely people through this fest, and I'm so glad to have been apart of all this with them. It's been a really great time, and I hope we can all do this again next round. 
> 
> This au was idea I've had, but was waiting for a good time to write, and with the prompt we were given, "it started on an average day", I knew I had to write this, and boy, did I struggle. I went into this fic with some confidence and eventually that plummeted when I started comparing myself to others yet again and ended up taking a long writing break. I came back, cried over this some more, and finished it off feeling pretty good all thanks to rewatching ladder and trying to find my place again. That said, I really do love this concept, I dunno if it's a thing already or not (if it is, please tell me so I can credit properly), but I had a lot of fun writing it and I really hope that it can be something other people can write too. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you again mod ONE for making this fest possible, you have no idea how happy I am that this could be my first fest, I'll definitely try and come back next round.  
> To the writers, I can't wait to see what you all have come up with, and I hope to see you guys again this next round. Much love~

 

 

Baekhyun exhales a pent up sigh as he finally hits the mattress he’s been longing for all day. He smells like wet dog, a little more than he usually does. The scent heavy and lingering and potent, heavily embedded in the fivers of his clothes. He needs to change, wash his clothes, but he’s so tired.

He just so happened to have handled a young, easily excitable golden retriever today. It was sweet, but also a god awful mess to clean up after, leaving him in an uncomfortable, damp shirt all day.

 

Gross, he sits up and immediately peels his shirt off, throwing it to the corner of his room and grimacing at the feeling of air cooling against his skin, which is rubbery feeling to the touch because of the hours of having to endure a damp shirt sticking to his torso.

 

Add that on to the embarrassment of when Chanyeol called him out for his nipples showing through the fabric of said t-shirt, and it’s recipe for a perfectly long, exhausting day, that he’s just barely getting done with.

Baekhyun groans as he sits up, grabbing fresh clothes out of his drawers and going to take a shower. He checks the time to make sure he’ll be on schedule, sure enough, he’s got another hour and a half or so before he should head out.

 

Friday nights are usually when he sets up early. The crowds are always busier and more willing to stay and watch his performances, plus, he’s figured out over time where the best spots are, where the most action is, and where and when he’ll get the most traffic.

 

His piano is set up in front of the window next to his bed, the case for it pushed off somewhere in his closet or under his bed, it always changes. The music he has is sitting in its folder on the stand of the piano, all polished and ready for tonight.

 

Baekhyun is a street musician. He goes out to Hongdae every Friday night to perform his own music and covers of songs he can never get out of his head.

 

He usually gets a pretty good turn out, too. It fills him with joy to see so many people standing around and watching, seeing lovers stand arm in arms with flowers bloomed and sitting bright against their skin as they sway and sing. Pretty, he thinks. They’re all pretty.

 

The flowers. His is still a puny little bud on his skin. It’s embarrassing too look at all cozied up against his neck, just above the neck of his shirt, to reveal it’s not even bloomed. Just a sad little bud that hangs dull and pale yellow and green. It’s ugly, and he hates looking at it.

 

It’s a big reason for why he does these shows though. It’s why he throws on clothes that he spent a little too much money for and hauls a piano and speaker and microphone into the busy streets of Hongdae in the dead heat of summer and bitter chill of winter.

 

Baekhyun spends countless hours writing and playing and composing and tweaking and pulling his hair out, just so he can trip over wires and crack jokes in between songs.

 

All so this stupid fucking flower will bloom.

 

He keeps silently hoping, deeply anticipating that night when they show up, and that little yellow bud will finally get its chance to open up and show itself to the world.

But it hasn’t. He’s seen so many different faces in Hongdae, foreigners and people from out of the city, people with buds still walking about but he’s left every night with a few thousand won and a sudden temptation to rip the damned thing out if it didn’t literally kill him.

 

Baekhyun has other reasons for performing besides trying to push his name out there, but recently it feels like that reason has just become a burden. He tries not to think about it. To have fun in performing because really, it is something that enjoys and helps buy him a few necessities. But that stupid bud. It’s so _embarrassing_.

  


Baekhyun towels his hair off as he steps into his room, throwing his towel off into his closet and slipping on his t-shirt. Another time check, he’s still on schedule.

 

He takes his keyboard off the stand and puts it on his bed, getting down on the floor and blindly feeling under the bed for his case until he can get a hold on it and yank it out, sniffling and shaking his head at the cloud of dust that it carries with it.

 

He unzips it, slips the keyboard inside, collapses the stand and slips it in behind and taking his music and slipping it into his backpack. It usually takes him only a few minutes to get his stuff together since it’s practically all laid out for him.

 

He double checks his appearance in the mirror before he shrugs his backpack onto his shoulders, grabs the handle in the end of his case in one hand, his speaker with the other, and heads out for the evening.

  
  


The sunlight is just falling over the tops of a few buildings when Baekhyun arrives. He’s on schedule, at his normal spot. A small set of three stairs that he stands at the bottom of, just a few steps away from string of restaurants. Baekhyun is immediately scrambling to pull out his keyboard, untangle the mic cord from the stereo cord and that from the extension cords. It’s always a game of tugging and pulling and then running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off to plug everything in and make sure it sounds okay.

 

Doing this even in the early spring is still as much a mess as it is in the summer. Trying to keep himself from sweating and his hair under control so he won’t look like a total maniac is harder than it sounds, but Baekhyun likes arriving when there’s still a sliver of sunlight left. It makes it easier for him to get set up, plut it gives him the advantage of having the earlier crowds, which are plentiful on Fridays. He’ll endure the sweat and frizzy hair.

 

He goes over the music one last time, making sure it’s all there while he warms his voice up by humming the tunes over and back again. A few people stop and stare for a moment, wondering if they should stick around, Baekhyun pretends not to pay them any attention but crosses his fingers that they’ll stay for a minute. He’s almost done, 5 minutes.

 

They don’t stay. They hover for a few seconds and then continue on with their evening, leaving Baekhyun alone to hum quietly to himself until he finally finishes up. Starting is always awkward, usually no one is there and he just has to jump straight into things without saying anything. A few notes, start things off. His fingers glide delicately over the keys as he takes a deep breath and starts in, softly, then slowly gathering his confidence once he sees a crowd beginning together, and lets his voice build.

 

He’ll never get used to the feeling. The kind of wavering confidence that makes his voice quiver in the slightest, the way his fingers tremble before landing on the keys, it’s always the same feeling and no matter how many times he does this, he’ll never get over that anxious feeling that creeps up on him when he performs.

 

The slightest idea of what could happen to that little bud in just a few hours is what sends him, everytime. Being there is okay, but the feeling of soft petals tickling his skin is something Baekhyun can’t help but to anticipate to much to the point it makes him look like a nervous wreck in front of all these people.

 

He’s only about halfway through his first song and is surprised to see such a large turnout already. Baekhyun smiles to himself upon looking at the still gathering crowd, trying to swallow the fluttering in his chest that these people have taken time out of their evening to stop and watch him for a few minutes.

 

A lot of them have their blooms already, but a small handful of them don’t. Pretty pinks and reds and yellows pressed against the necks of couples who stand hand in hand listening to Baekhyun belt out his feelings over a feeling he’s never even known.

 

He opens his eyes after finishing the last note, opens his eyes, smiles shyly and bows and thanks the crowd who clap. Waves to those who turn to continue with their night and introduces his next song after a brief chat with the crowd.

 

A few more people show up, squeezing onto the stairs and watching. He pretends like it doesn’t faze him, even though the sight really just makes his palms start to sweat more. He keeps going, he keeps throwing shy smiles to the people in the crowd, he closes his eyes as he slips into a falsetto, feels the way the winds tosses his hair a little. He hears a few gasps of amazement, shock, his eyes flutter open and people are pointing.

 

They’re pointing and whispering to one another with amused smiles on their faces and Baekhyun doesn’t understand at first, just keeps playing the song but then he feels it. The soft drag across his neck, the subtle tickle of petals, and his eyes begin searching frantically among the crowd.

 

There’s no way this is happening. That’s just the wind tossing his bud around a little, not the thing actually blooming, right?

 

Wrong.

 

He sees the pink unravel on a scared looking man hidden among a few other faces at the top of the stairs. Baekhyun watches it bloom. Petals slowly unraveling on top his skin with his own two eyes, then stop at the same exact moment his does, and he goes totally silent. Song abandoned. Even the crowd is silent and watches the two stare at each other in awe as if this was something they had never seen before.

 

He's standing at the top of the stairs. He’s wearing thick framed glasses, his eyes are wide in pure shock, his head just barely pokes above the other bodies on the stairs, occasionally glancing back at the stranger as if waiting for a reaction.

 

Baekhyun breathes a chuckle, leaning back into the mic, trying to make the situation a little less awkward, a little more bright, and to take the attention off this poor guy who looks like he has no idea how to react.

 

“Well... I guess this means I can dedicate songs to someone now.” He smiles, watching the crowd smile and chuckle, a few people cheer and some coo. Baekhyun tries to ignore the heat creeping up his neck and face. He should continue with the song and stop drawing attention. This is a big deal, sure, but Baekhyun has a job to do, and he doesn’t want to keep making this situation more awkward than it already is. He can keep an eye on the man through the remainder of the set, maybe try and make a move after.

 

A man next to glasses boy (or “soulmate”, if you will), begins to shake his shoulders pointing to Baekhyun and cheering and encouraging him to do something. Baekhyun smiles again, a little less shyly this time and jumps right back into the song, confidence growing just a little as he eases himself back into the feeling.

He glances up a few seconds later, and glasses boy still looks absolutely petrified. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t stop staring, he doesn’t acknowledge his very loud friend next to him, he just stands like a deer in the headlights.

 

Baekhyun tears his glance away to the keys under his fingers, then back up at him again. Glasses blinks one, twice, takes a step back, stumbling over some people behind him as he does, apologizing profusely, turns around, and _runs_.

  


And to think today started out as average as any other.

— — —

  
  


Baekhyun went through the rest of his set acting like Glasses boy running away totally didn’t sting a little. He remembers the look on the strangers friend. He looked at Baekhyun after Glasses scurried off, then behind him, then back to Baekhyun, sending him an apologetic, almost pitiful look as he shook his head in dismay and turned around to track down Glasses.

 

It was a longer than usual set, and after all the commotion that erupted, leaving Baekhyun a little hurt, and even more confused, he lost his energy completely. He decided to wrap up early and call it a night, thanking people for coming to watch and how much it meant to him. He said it with as much gratitude as he could genuinely express, and packed up slowly, looking over his shoulder and among the crowd as if expecting someone to come along. They didn’t. He didn’t.

 

His flower was just a part of his life that he acknowledged as being important, but never truly paid attention to.

  


Now, Baekhyun has spent nearly his entire day replaying that scene from last night over and over again. It’s distracting. He’s been having to force himself to get his work done and not stare off out the shop window trying to map out the details of Glasses boy that he could remember.

 

Keeping Chanyeol off his back all day has proved to be a good way of keeping Baekhyun out of his thoughts because his friend hasn’t stopped asking questions since Baekhyun walked through the door.

 

“Was he cute?”

 

“Did you say something?”

 

“Are you gonna see him again?”

 

Baekhyun is honestly surprised Chanyeol has gotten any work done either, considering he’s been more obsessed in trying to find out the full story behind Baekhyun’s stupid bloom than grooming dogs.

 

Baekhyun’s half-assed answers didn’t really suffice, he was too stressed out in his own mind to really give Chanyeol a proper answer because he didn’t even understand himself.

 

He doesn’t understand what Chanyeol is so excited about, considering he bloomed a year ago. If anything, it should be Baekhyun smiling ear to ear and showing off the shiny, pink petals on his skin. Which he would, if he got to say hello to the fucker before he ran.

 

He’s been too stuck thinking about Chanyeol’s last question that he missed the radio come back on. When they work evenings together (which is often), Chanyeol typically has the radio on a particular station. Baekhyun always forgets the name because he’s usually never paying attention, all he knows is the guy who does the evening show has a nice voice, and he’s been trying to listen to that guy talk instead of the guy behind him.

 

 _“Welcome back to Eclipse ninety-five seven, I’m your evening host, Do Kyungsoo. For those who might just be tuning in, I want to welcome you all. Tonight is a bit different than usual, you know.”_ There’s a brief pause, Baekhyun is cleaning up his work station for the evening, Chanyeol follows behind silently.

 

 _“Last night I went out to Hongdae with a friend and found myself in quite a… I guess, monumental, once in a lifetime sort of circumstance.”_ He chuckles, _“Last night I got my bloom. Can you believe that?”_ Baekhyun stops sweeping up stray fur from the floor for a split second, glances over at the small radio that sits on Chanyeol’s supply cabinet, then keeps sweeping.

 

So Baekhyun wasn’t the only one to have an experience in Hongdae last night. Small world, he thinks. A sudden thought in the back of his mind asks if that bloom is the one that belongs to his, but there’s no way. Baekhyun couldn’t be that lucky. But then again, Fate works in some strange ways.

 

 _“Unfortunately, I was a bit panicked and… Well, I ran off.”_ He chuckles to cover the embarrassment in his voice.

Baekhyun suddenly feels his heart sputter in his chest. He stops sweeping completely.

 

He ran away.

 

_He ran away._

  


_“Now, I can’t stop thinking about it. So I decided to take it upon myself to play a song-”_

 

The radio clicks off and Chanyeol unplugs it.

 

“Wait! Turn that back on!” Baekhyun points to the plug dangling in between Chanyeol’s fingers. His heart is racing, he needs to know what that guy was about say.

 

“Wh- Okay…” He says defensively, and plugs the radio back in, turning it back on.

 

It takes a second to register in Baekhyun’s head. The song should be an immediate giveaway, but it doesn’t sound real. It doesn’t sound like him. It doesn’t sound like _his_ voice.

 

Him and Chanyeol stare at each other in pure shock, the song playing happily in the background. The melody rings out in between the two, into the empty shop, and suddenly Baekhyun is overcome with too emotions all at once.

 

“That’s… Is that-“ Chanyeol slowly raises a finger to point at Baekhyun as he tries to connect the dots.

 

Baekhyun nods, cutting him off. Yeah, that’s him. His song. His voice. His words, on the radio.

 

He doesn’t know what a proper reaction to this should be. Jump around? Cry? Both?

 

It’s different than the version he performs in Hongdae. This one is much more lively and upbeat, different instruments and sounds and vocals all coming together to make the kind of song that makes you want to dance with someone.

 

“Holy shit.”  Chanyeol breathes.

 

Baekhyun huffs. So maybe that DJ is… No way. He couldn’t get that lucky.

 

“Hey, are you crying?”

 

Baekhyun looks away from the radio, up to Chanyeol, and wipes at his eyes, shaking his head. He was definitely about to.

 

Baekhyun has no idea what to say, he just listens, and tries comprehend the reality of this situation while Chanyeol gapes and teases him about this being the beginning of his road to stardom.

 

Baekhyun just shakes his head and finishes sweeping, singing along to his song quietly until it fades out.

 

_“That was ‘Take you Home’ by Byun Baekhyun here on the Eclipse. I’m going to play that song for the rest of the week in hopes of it reaching the owner, who really deserves an apology. ”_

 

“Wait, is that your-“

 

“I thought you were going home?” Baekhyun finally looks back at Chanyeol who is standing off to the side with his backpack slung over his shoulder, his eyes are full with million questions to ask, and Baekhyun knows exactly what he was about to say. Not tonight, Baekhyun has way too much to think about now.

 

“What? And miss out on this? Come on, don’t tell me that’s the guy who ditched you last night.”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, because he doesn’t want to be for sure. He doesn’t want to jump the gun, but there’s a blush that he feels crawl up his neck and Chanyeol rolls his eyes as if he has his answer.

 

“Whatever,” Chanyeol rolls his eyes and strolls towards the door, “I’m out of here. See you tomorrow, flower boy.” He waves over his shoulder as he slips outside.

 

“Have a good night.” Baekhyun waves Chanyeol off. He watches the door slowly shut behind him and soon disappears around the corner of the store.

 

“Flower boy.” Baekhyun scoffs mockingly. Chanyeol is going to keep giving him shit about this until he finds the supposed runaway ‘Soulmate’ on the radio. This feels like something from a drama. Of course it would be him something like this would happen to.

 

He leaves the radio playing through the rest of his shift and listens to Kyungsoo talk, trying to piece together every detail of the events from last night so he can to try and make it all seem reasonable.

  
  


**\-- -- --**

  
  
  


Baekhyun absolutely hates that the first thing he does when he gets home is open his computer to search up this whole _“My apparent soulmate dipped on me and now I’m stuck with a pointless bloom that I don’t know what to do with”_ internet search _instead_ of looking up the radio station that played his song, the person on the radio station that played his song.

 

Baekhyun had to practically roll across the floor when he come home to stay out of the eyes of his roommate, Sehun, and save himself from yet another explanation of the flower on his neck. Chances are, Sehun would be the most understanding about this, but also call him a big stupid idiot even though the younger boy is still budded himself.  
  
Baekhyun had to make up a quick excuse telling the male who was busy piping tea in the kitchen that he didn’t feel well and was going to bed.

 

Now, he’s sitting in said bed, scrolling through posts of people who have encountered their soulmates, witnessed their bloom, and then hesitated to make an initial move. A lot of people were like Baekhyun. They witnessed it happen only for it all to disappear in the next moment by their own fault or their partners.

 

Some said they were afraid of being judged on first appearance because maybe they weren’t wearing makeup, or having a bad hair day. Other people who felt like they weren’t in a good living or financial situation and were afraid of their potential partner finding out, and so they felt like they had no choice but to run away. Some stories were more serious than others, but all of them repeat the same ending; Fate always forcing them to find their way back to each other.

 

Baekhyun barely got a good look at him, though. Now, he has to anticipate for the universe to work its ways and let them fall back into the same place again. It’s bound to happen. People said that no matter what they did to try and avoid that matching flower, their attempts never worked. No matter what their situation, these two people always fell back into place and were _forced_ to make the connection and experience their blooms no matter what. That’s just how this works. Fate can’t be ignored. It won’t be ignored.

 

Baekhyun supposes he’s no different, and he really hates that. Even if everyone says all the trouble actually ended up being better for the two of them in the long run. Baekhyun isn’t really in a _bad_ place, but he sure as hell isn’t where he’d like to be. He’s still finishing up with his last year of school and is studying himself into an early grave. Music theory. Why did he think that was okay.

 

Baekhyun is living paycheck to paycheck. Using the minuscule tips he receives every week for performances to cover groceries, and the money from his real job to cover school and rent. The more he thinks about it, the more he just doesn’t know if this is a good time for him to be involved with someone. Especially if it means romantically. Trying to dedicate himself to two jobs, studies, and now a _person_ sounds like a recipe for disaster, no matter what anyone says.

 

Baekhyun never planned for this day. He never thought too seriously about what his reaction would be or the scenario in which this would all occur. His “Blooming Day”, as people refer to it, was something he’s never made a huge deal about, mainly because it’s something that Baekhyun never really cared for.

Baekhyun has always had bigger dreams than the one on his neck, and he’s still working to make those dreams come true. Hardly ever did he think about the little bud finally springing to life, hardly ever did he find himself in particular scenario and think that this stupid thing would bloom. Now he has to anticipate for what’s to come and he isn’t sure if he can handle it.

 

The further Baekhyun scrolls through these forums, the more sad he gets, for some reason. It makes him feel so weird, like none of this should really be happening. But it is. Now he has to deal with it, and he doesn’t really know how to at all. He knows he can’t ignore it, no matter how much he wants to. But when the time comes around… How is he going to manage? He’s balancing so much already that adding someone, a soulmate into the mix, just sounds like too much weight for him to carry at once.

  


This was a stupid idea. He’s getting ahead of himself and he has no reason to be when there’s absolutely nothing about that stranger that he can remember other than the shock in his big, round eyes. It’s not like there’s anything he can do about this anyways but wait.

 

Baekhyun falls back into his pillows with a heavy sigh and stares up at his ceiling. He must have lost track of time, because there’s a knock at his door and before he can make a move Sehun is opening the door and poking his head inside.

 

“Hey, you feeling okay?”

 

Baekhyun quickly tries to shift in his bed so he can cover the bloom on his neck, raising both of his arms up, and letting his fingers toy with the collar of his t-shirt just below his flower. He nods, “Yeah. Just a headache. I already took some stuff so uh… I’ll be good.”

 

Sehun nods, but he doesn’t seem like he’s buying it. His eyebrows press together, and he stares at Baekhyun doubtfully.

“You sure? You’ve been kinda… Distant. You aren’t mad me are you?”

 

Baekhyun clears his throat and adjusts himself again to keep the bloom covered. He glances at the little bud on Sehun’s neck, then up at Sehun, and shakes his head .

“What? No, I’m fine… Just been caught up with work and… School stuff.”

 

Sehun blinks, takes a look around Baekhyun’s room, then eyes Baekhyun suspiciously for a few seconds longer before he nods and slowly closes the door. Baekhyun’s eyes fall shut as he lets out a breath of relief he hadn’t realized he had been holding. The fingers playing with his shirt drift up to run over the petals again, his thumb and index finger catching one of the petals and rubbing it in between his fingers.  


Do Kyungsoo… The name is still stuck in his head.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t want to think about this anymore. He slams his laptop closed and rolls out of his bed to change. He has class tomorrow morning.  He’ll let fate play this one out, he just doesn’t have the energy to do it on his own.

  
  
  


**\-- -- --**

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun spent his lecture on the brink of sleep. He doesn’t have a reason to be tired, but for some reason he woke up feeling way less rested than usual, which is strange, because he doesn’t remember waking up at all during the night. He’s just _tired_.

 

Even with a full night of rest, he can’t seem to stay awake and keeps having to force himself not to rest his arms on his hands, but his head still falls forward and his vision still goes out of focus. It feels like there’s a barbell tied to his head, almost forcing him down to sleep.

 

The fact he also still has to work right after this almost frustrates him to the point he wants to call in.

 

He needs to pay rent though. He also needs to send his mom money this weekend. It’s his monthly routine that he doesn’t have to do, but chooses to anyways because he promised her he would before he moved to the city. It’s his way of letting her know how much he appreciates what she does even while he’s away.

 

It breaks his budget a little (a lot), but it doesn’t matter. She needs it, and he’s gotten by okay this far. He’ll live.

 

Baekhyun manages to stay alive long enough until the end of his lecture to hear the next assignment due along with the requirements before it’s time to leave.

 

Besides the lack of sleep tempting him to go back home, there’s something else that’s tiring Baekhyun. It’s stupid Glasses guy from the other night in Hongdae. The more Baekhyun tries to replay those events, forwards backwards and sideways, he starts to remember a lot of small details. The way his eyes opened wide and his lips parted. The little flower on his neck opening, opening, until the petals were fully spread against his skin.

 

Even on what he’s now come to find is definitely his radio show, the sound of just his voice, deep and tender, it hits Baekhyun in all the right ways and makes the side of his neck light up with heat just under his bloom. He’d been listening to that station ever since the other night he heard his song play, and sure enough, just out of Baekhyun’s pure curiosity, the song has been played consecutively for two straight nights while he’s gotten ready for bed. He still forgets how to breathe when he hears the introduction play out. It’s still so crazy to listen to it and know that’s his voice, his everything, playing for everyone to hear.  

 

Chanyeol greets him loudly when he gets inside the shop, then proceeds to ask him what’s wrong as Baekhyun clocks in.

 

“Nothing, why?”

 

Chanyeol shrugs, looking at him over his work table, “You just look stressed.”

 

So it’s that obvious?

 

“Huh? No… I’m okay.” Baekhyun shakes his head and walks over to his workstation to set up, silently hoping that Chanyeol isn’t going to try and push Baekhyun to spill whatever is on his mind. Not that he minds talking to Chanyeol about his worries, but today he just doesn’t feel like speaking to anyone.

 

It’s a mostly silent first couple of hours. Chanyeol tried to fill in the space by cooing at puppies and having a full blown conversation with them instead of Baekhyun, who has hardly said a word since he’s been here.

 

The alarm pings signalling someone has come in. Baekhyun sighs as he turns his head to take a glance at the person standing behind the front counter, with a little bundle of black fur squirming in his arms.

 

“I’ll get it,” Baekhyun says, turning around to let Chanyeol continue with his work. It’s the least he can do to make up for playing the quiet game for nearly two and half hours now.

 

He greets he man, who stares at him for a long couple of seconds before he finally says hello. When Baekhyun asks what he can do for him, the man sputters, growing a little red in the face as he speaks.

 

“I uh- I just adopted her like, a week or so ago and…I think I made an appointment for today?” He asks.

 

“Ah, she’s precious.” Baekhyun coos, “I’ll get started on her, I just need your name.” Baekhyun presses forward on the counter looking at the little puppy squirm around in the man’s arms as he struggles to keep a hold of her. She’s cute. Her owner’s cute, too.

 

“Uh…” He’s still red in the face and it’s clear he’s new to this. It makes Baekhyun chuckle as he pushes himself off the counter, and adjusts himself in front of the computer as he waits patiently for the man to answer.

 

“Uhm…” the man clears his throat and adjusts the cap on his head, “Do Kyungsoo.”

 

Baekhyun stops what he’s doing, looks at the guy, and feels his face get red too.

 

He isn’t wearing his fucking glasses, plus he’s wearing a baseball hat on top of it all. Baekhyun must be too tired because this should have been clear as day but he didn’t bother to take in the details. Do Kyungsoo is standing right in front of him. Maybe this was fate’s plan after all.

 

Chanyeol must have heard too because he whirls around, abandoning what he’s doing to look between the two of them with a shocked, yet playful look in his eyes.

 

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun sighs, “You…You’re on the radio…”

 

“Uh… Yeah.” Kyungsoo adjusts his hold on the excited puppy in his arms as he watches Baekhyun slowly put everything together.

 

Is it wrong to push? Is it weird to ask for him to pull down the neck of his sweater just a teeny tiny bit?

 

“You played _my_ song, ‘Take You Home.’”

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, he just stares back as if he knows exactly what he did. He _knows_ what he did.

 

“You were there. In Hongdae… Friday night.” Baekhyun tries to push the hints out and it’s clear Kyungsoo knows. It’s clear that he gets it all. He nods slowly.

 

“And you _ran_?”

 

“I’m so sorry,” Kyungsoo breathes, his face is still red and Baekhyun gets why it hasn’t gone away. He’s known since he walked in and saw Baekhyun that he knew exactly what he was getting himself into, and now Baekhyun has got him by the nape.

 

“You should be. You made me look like an idiot for the rest of the night!”

 

“I panicked, I’m so s-“

 

“Show me,” Baekhyun cuts off Kyungsoo, and points to his neck, “Lemme see it.”

 

He needs this. He needs the confirmation otherwise he’s going to go crazy. His appointment can wait a little bit, everything can wait, he’s been going on three days now of this insanity.

 

Kyungsoo swallows and pulls down the neck of his sweater, and sure enough, out pops a little pink bloom, identical to Baekhyun’s. Baekhyun scoffs as he eyes Kyungsoo’s bloom for a few seconds. He isn’t as angry about this as he thought he would be. If anything, he finds it kind of funny now, but he’s been needing some confirmation from this one person and now he has it, and now he has no idea what to do.

 

Baekhyun stares at the bloom for a long time. He’s completely mesmerized by it. It’s identical right down to the shape of the petals, the shade of pink, both of them are the exact same.

 

“Shit,” Baekhyun murmurs.

 

He’s completely forgotten that there’s a job he should be doing right now. Baekhyun is way too focused on the sight in front of him that he’s ignored everyone around him as he stares forward at Kyungsoo’s bloom, trying to make sense of what he could even though nothing else needs anymore explanation.

 

They’re soulmates. That’s it.

  
  


It was an awkward hour or so of Baekhyun grooming Kyungsoo’s puppy and filing through about a million thoughts while having to ignore glances from both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo who was sitting quietly in the waiting area. He still has a job to finish but by the time he does, Baekhyun decides to give Kyungsoo thirty minutes of his time to explain himself, and try and find their way through this situation. Granted it’s probably not the best timing because Baekhyun probably smells like wet dog and looks like he’s teetering on the edge of sleep, Kyungsoo graciously accepts.

 

They sit outside of a nearby cafe, Baekhyun listens as Kyungsoo explains what was going through his head from that night. He scratches nervously behind Ink’s ears about how he panicked and didn’t know what to do. And how just like Baekhyun, he never thought this was something that would happen out of nowhere on a Friday evening, and completely flip his life upside down. He apologizes more times than Baekhyun can count, and in just a few minutes, the messier part of things were settled.

 

“Speaking of,” Baekhyun leans back in his chair, “How did you manage to find my song even though you left barely halfway through it?”

“You don’t wanna know.” Kyungsoo chuckles in embarrassment, “It was a lot of looking up the lyrics that managed to get stuck in my head. Once I found that I found your entire SoundCloud profile so… I hope none of that is weird, or creepy,” Kyungsoo flushes, his hands rise to cover his face “Oh my god.”

 

“Not creepy. Kind of impressive, actually. Besides, it’s there for a reason.” Baekhyun reassures Kyungsoo with as bright a smile he can muster and tries to ignore the heat spreading across his own face. He really took a lot of time just to play Baekhyun’s stupid song on the radio. But the fact that he’s listened to more than just that one song, really makes his heart do something. It’s a simple gesture, but it’s really meaningful to someone who can barely promote himself.

 

“So I guess it also isn’t creepy if I say that you sound really nice then? Cause you sound…Really nice.”

 

Baekhyun takes a nervous sip of coffee as if it’ll somehow calm his nerves, “Thanks.”

 

Kyungsoo smiles, and jumps into asking Baekhyun all about his music. Baekhyun probably talks too much about it, he rambles about his process and what inspires him. He probably talks too much about it, but it’s not something people typically ask him about. Kyungsoo nods and listens, occasionally letting out a breath of amazement as he scratches his puppy’s head.

 

Their conversation takes a few different turns into their careers and then hobbies and Baekhyun was telling Kyungsoo about the time him and Sehun almost lit their apartment on fire trying to fry rice, but pauses when Baekhyun’s phone buzzes signifying the end their thirty minutes.

He almost swears out loud but remembers that he’s trying to look a little decent and quietly turns it off as he stands up, “That’s for me.” Baekhyun pockets his phone and pushes his chair in, Kyungsoo following behind.

 

It went by fast. Too fast, if he’s being honest.

 

“Damn, already?” Kyungsoo lets his puppy jump to the ground and shake side to side.

 

Baekhyun huffs. Well, there goes that whole decency thing.

 

“So I guess this is the part where we hand over numbers and go from there, right?” Baekhyun pulls his phone back out and shakes it in the air. Kyungsoo nods and does he same, unlocking it and handing it over to Baekhyun and within a minute, they have each other saved to the top of their contacts.

 

“Let me walk with you back to work.” Kyungsoo hands Baekhyun’s phone back but keeps a hold on it when Baekhyun attempts to take it back, “I’m going that way anyways.”

 

Baekhyun’s agrees, and they walk back to the shop together, Kyungsoo stops just outside as Baekhyun “Thanks for cleaning her up,  by the way. She looks so much better.”

 

“No problem. She’s so cute.” Baekhyun smiles, refraining from adding on “just like her owner”. Him and Kyungsoo exchange goodbyes, and when Baekhyun finally comes inside Chanyeol has a look on his face that tells him he knows he can’t away with not saying anything.

 

Chanyeol was gushing by the time Baekhyun finished, and was still gushing when they left for the night. Besides the innocent, incessant teasing, Chanyeol actually threw out some helpful advice every now and then. Telling Baekhyun that even though he may be in a bit of a rough patch right now, one more person in his life, especially one who is supposed to be there, is going to take a lot of weight off his shoulders, and he’ll be thankful everything happened wh+

en it did when he looks back on it.

 

He hates admitting when Chanyeol is right.

  
  
  
  


**\-- -- --**

  
  
  


Baekhyun never knew the definition of the word ‘pining’ until he started doing it and had to look up what it meant when he missed someone but the word ‘miss’ wasn’t enough to describe what he felt. He longed for a presence that came in the form of a deep voice, and the occasional weight of a warm hand over his shoulder. Eye smiles that peek over the crowd at the last couple of shows he’s done.

 

Since their first proper encounter, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have kept steady coffee dates in between work with the occasional dinner for the last couple of weeks, along with texting random shit to him spontaneously at random hours. And now because of all that, Baekhyun has been having a hard time when he gets home at the end of the day and taps the radio app on his phone to hear that familiar voice come through his headphones while he studies. It’s distracting, it makes Baekhyun’s heart do stupid things and it makes him really wish he was somehow within Kyungsoo’s presence. Listening to him speak just wasn’t enough.

It’s kind of crazy to think how much all of this has affected him in just a few, quick weeks. Something Baekhyun used to think was just a fools dream has now become his reality, and now suddenly means more and more to him everyday.

 

Somehow Kyungsoo has made himself the center of Baekhyun’s life in just a couple of weeks. If Baekhyun from a couple of months ago knew how quickly his life would change, he’d have called himself crazy. Insane, maybe.

  


When Baekhyun shuffles out of his room that morning after texting Kyungsoo for a little while and trying to keep from making stupid sounds and hugging his phone to his chest when Kyungsoo suggested an aquarium date for tonight, he bumps right into Sehun, who is staring down at his own phone in one hand and holding a box of cereal in the other.

 

“Stupid, what’s your- _Woah_.”

 

It takes a second for Baekhyun to process the reason for his roommates shock, then it dawns on him. He hasn’t told Sehun yet. He’s still been trying to keep his distance.

 

“You got your…” The younger waves the hand holding his phone around, trying to point out the bloom.

 

“Yeah… Like, a couple weeks ago.”

 

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me? You haven’t even been sick!” Sehun slumps his shoulders and stares at Baekhyun, waiting for an answer, some sort of explanation.

 

“I didn’t want to tell you yet. I didn’t even know how to feel about it myself.” Baekhyun unconsciously tugs at the hem of his shirt just under the bloom. Sehun’s eyes fall to it, then he looks back up at Baekhyun, shifting his weight to the other leg.

 

“Well what about now?” He asks,

 

Baekhyun shrugs, “A little better, I guess.”

 

“Are they nice?”

 

“Y-Yeah?”

 

“Have you gone on any dates?”

 

“Our first real one is tonight… I think.”

 

“Oh my god, you’re truly hopeless.” Sehun shakes his head and turns around, falling back into the couch, “What’s their name?” Sehun stretches his legs out and prods Baekhyun in the thigh as he follows to sit on the arm of the couch.

 

“Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun swats at Sehun, and watches him with a curious glint in his eyes, “He sounds cute.” He smiles, finally opening up the box of cereal and eating a dry handful.

 

“Well, I’m happy for you. Seriously, Hyung. I think you need someone to take away the pressure of all the shit you put on yourself. I really wish you would’ve told me though, I wouldn’t have been offended or anything.”

 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and stands up, “Wow, thanks.” He deadpans sarcastically, “Remind me never to get involved when you bloom then, cause I’m gonna give you hell.”

 

Baekhyun forgot what he came outside for. He talks to Sehun a little longer and returns to his room, just as his phone pings with a text from Kyungsoo, with a time and place for tonight.

 

Aquariums are cute, he thinks. He hasn’t been to one since he went on a class field trip in elementary school and got lost after staring at the stingrays for too long. For their first proper one together, it’s a good one. Definitely not some place Baekhyun was expecting.

 

He’s nervous, even if all these handful of times Baekhyun has met with Kyungsoo and gotten to know him, he still feels a little breathless. Kyungsoo seems nice, _is_ nice. It's not he he’s a total stranger to Baekhyun, either. He’s heard his commentary on the radio every now and again and has listened to the small things he shares about his day and the songs he stumbled upon over the week that he wants people to hear. Even when they grab lunch or coffee, he learns one more thing about Kyungsoo and what kind of person he is. After Baekhyun’s last two sets in Hongdae, Kyungsoo has been there and told Baekhyun he sounded good while they indulge in cheap street food.

 

He’s genuine. Even yesterday when they went to some bistro for lunch, Kyungsoo asked Baekhyun lots of small, non invasive questions about his life, and what he does. Baekhyun even learned a thing or to about Kyungsoo. Like how he’s actually younger than Baekhyun by a year, and never did go to college, saying that he tried for a minute, but it just wasn’t for him.

 

Today is just going to be any other regular day with Kyungsoo. Just longer. He should be excited about that but instead Baekhyun has tried on his entire wardrobe or what he managed to find that was clean. So what if Kyungsoo will be here in three hours? It doesn’t hurt to get a head start.

 

He also knows it will take him exactly that long to decide on something, a head start is absolutely necessary.

 

By the time he does decide, he’s standing in his bathroom with nothing but a pair jeans on trying to do something with his hair while his cell phone rings from his bedroom.

 

“Fuck,” He looks at the contact name. It’s Kyungsoo.

 

“Uh, hey! Are you here?” He tries to sound like he isn’t in the midst of panicking. It’s a good thing Kyungsoo can’t see him right now.

 

_“Yeah, I’m outside. I’ll wait next to my car so you can find me. Will you be down soon?”_

 

Yes, of course he will. Once he abandons all his plans on his hair and picks out something completely different to wear than what he planned before, he’ll sprint out the door. He honestly planned to be outside by now to keep Kyungsoo from having to wait but his nerves caused him to completely lose track of time. Now he’s scrambling around his room trying to find a decent shirt to wear while telling Kyungsoo he’ll be right down.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t take a second look at himself when he walks out of his room. His hair is probably all over the place, and he tries to fix it on the elevator down. A middle part was probably a bad idea. Maybe he over thought all of this.

 

Of course he did. Once Baekhyun gets outside he immediately sees Kyungsoo is dressed similar to him, in light jacket and jeans. Baekhyun truly hopes he doesn’t look like a trainwreck (his hair, that is).

 

Kyungsoo pushes himself off of his car and steps onto the sidewalk with a smile, “There you are.”

 

Baekhyun’s first move is to apologize, maybe a little red in the face as he does. Just ignore it, look at Kyungsoo smiling, that’s a good distraction, he has a cute smile.

 

“Your hair looks different. It’s cool.” Kyungsoo opens the passenger door to let Baekhyun get in.

 

“Oh really? I thought I trashed it, honestly.” Baekhyun breathes a sigh of relief as he ducks down into the car . Kyungsoo shakes his head with a giggle, and closes the door.

 

When Kyungsoo gets in on the driver’s side, he sits silently for a few seconds, not yet putting the key into the ignition.

 

“Are you oka-”

 

“Have you eaten yet?”

 

They both look at each other at the same time when their questions fall out. They blink, chuckle nervously and Baekhyun answers Kyungsoo’s question to take away from a back and forth of one telling the other to go first.

 

“I could go for some food.” Baekhyun smiles.

  


—

  


“You know beluga whales have an IQ of like, a hundred and fifty?” Baekhyun’s face is mere centimeters from pressing straight up against the glass. Kyungsoo chuckles behind him, “You’re joking. A whale that’s smarter than me is borderline offensive.”

 

Baekhyun glances back at Kyungsoo over his shoulder for a second. Kyungsoo is looking up at the fish swimming around above them, “Hey, he’s jobless and _still_ living his best life. Don’t be upset because you can’t be him.”

 

To Baekhyun’s surprise, everything has gone insanely well so far. Baekhyun hasn’t made himself look like an idiot (yet), he’s kept up a lot of good discussions with Kyungsoo, and he’s had the most fun he’s had in a while.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t even remember what he was freaking himself out over to begin with. Kyungsoo is open, he’s comfortable to be around, Baekhyun feels good about himself, and he’s genuinely having a good time. Everything he’s been worried about since yesterday after they parted ways has dissolved and has left him feeling really, really happy. He’s nearly forgotten that feeling with all the pressure he’s had on himself for the past couple of months.

  


After waiting diligently despite Kyungsoo’s eye roll, the whale finally comes up to the window after Baekhyun insisted he had to see it otherwise this whole trip would not be worth it (he was kidding). He said he’d teach it tricks, maybe teach it say how cool he is, or to do a flip, something.

 

Baekhyun just presses his face up completely against the glass and marvels at it.

 

“Oh my god, that’s gross.” Kyungsoo breathes from behind.

 

Baekhyun waves at it, the whale just stares. He makes sounds he’s never made in his life, and he has a feeling Kyungsoo is trying to act like he doesn’t know who the dancing stranger is in front of a beluga whale.

 

To both of their surprise though, the whale actually responds to Baekhyun and nods up and down., and opening its mouth up wide and startling the two of them. Baekhyun laughs and turns to look at Kyungsoo, pointing at what he just did, Kyungsoo laughs and urges him on.

 

Baekhyun spends more than enough time messing with the whale, trying to pull reactions from it and play with it through the glass. Kyungsoo watches silently from beside him, laughing every time Baekhyun complains when nothing happens.

 

Baekhyun got his laugh at Kyungsoo a little later, after he got startled when they pet the stingrays.

  


Everything about the whole evening was better than what Baekhyun could have hoped for. Walking around and laughing, joking, talking with Kyungsoo was a weight off of Baekhyun’s shoulders.

 

They shuffled slowly through the different exhibits as Baekhyun spilled everything about his life,

 

“I’m majoring in music theory, so on the side off all of my classwork for other classes, I’m working part time and trying to produce my own personal music in between.”

 

Kyungsoo gapes, “That must be a lot of stress on you, right?”

 

“I mean,” Baekhyun doesn’t want to make it sound like he’s suffering, even if he kind of is. He does part of this because he has to, but the other part because he wants to.

 

“I like doing it, so it doesn’t bother me too much. Especially since it’s something I do on my own time, I can do it whenever I want. But writing and playing it, making all of it come to life helps ease the pressure of everything else, I guess.” Baekhyun glances over at Kyungsoo who is nodding silently.

 

The blue hue of the aquarium casts a pretty light on the two of them as they walk around. The reflection of the fish swimming above them is bright against Kyungsoo’s eyes as they walk slowly, feet shuffling against the ground. The outline of his features are soft and curved, deep blue casting a soft glow against his skin.

 

“Pretty,” Baekhyun’s hands immediately claps over his mouth as he stops dead in his tracks. He sincerely hopes the low light of this place is dim enough to hide the heat turning his cheeks pink.

 

Kyungsoo looks a little shocked too, he probably knew Baekhyun was catching glances.

  


Embarrassment: 1

 

Baekhyun: 0

  


Kyungsoo’s lips turn up into a shy smile, and his head falls as he chuckles. He shuffles forward, looks back up, eyes meeting Baekhyun’s wise ones, and gently takes his wrist, pulling it lightly to try and remove both of Baekhyun’s hands from his mouth.

 

Baekhyun let’s him, let’s Kyungsoo pull the top hand away and slowly dropping the other to his side. He sputters for an apology but it comes out jumbled and a little incoherent since he stumbles over his words, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean- _Fuck._ ”

  


Embarrassment: 2

 

Baekhyun: 0

  


Baekhyun watches in confusion as Kyungsoo’s eyes turn into little crescents and his lips form into that heart shape that’s now become stamped into Baekhyun’s mind, his neck where his bloom sits burns in a way that it fills his whole body with warmth and happiness as Kyungsoo walks back towards Baekhyun and carefully intertwines their fingers.

 

“As cute as you are when you get embarrassed, you should really stop apologizing mindlessly when you didn’t do anything wrong. Just relax.”  Kyungsoo’s voice is warm and low as he speaks, and he gives Baekhyun’s hand a soft squeeze, smile still bright on his face. They’re close, like, inches apart and Baekhyun is using all the mental strength he can to _not_ look down at Kyungsoo’s full lips, because he has no idea of they’ve even hit that stage yet. Three weeks of almost daily encounters and nonstop chatting or not, he doesn’t want to jump too soon. But fuck is it temping.

 

“Oh, sorr- I mean… Thank you. I usually don’t act this stupid all the time, I swear.” Baekhyun’s head falls as he looks down at the two of their hands molded together. They walk slowly, still aimlessly wandering through the halls.

 

Kyungsoo chuckles, “I feel like I’ve seen you more serious than stupid. I like the playful Baekhyunnie.”

 

“Thanks… I promise once I get school over with I’ll be a little less uptight. With it being my final year and graduation and now _you_ stepping into the picture I… I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to handle everything at once.” Baekhyun finally admits all the stress of what’s kept him distant. He expected for Kyungsoo to be a little offended, to comment back when Baekhyun talked about how he wasn’t sure he could handle school, jobs and a relationship, but instead he listened all the way through.

 

“I don’t want you to take offense to that, I just… I didn’t want to pass my stress onto you, you know? But now after meeting you so many times, I guess I was worried about nothing, huh? I mean, we have identical blooms so of course I shouldn’t have been worried at all but still-”

 

Baekhyun was rambling. He tends to go off tangent when he’s in conversations with Kyungsoo especially, because he listens well and responds only when needed. But this, this was a different kind of response. It was a sudden pull, all in one swift motion, and Baekhyun is filled with warmth from head to toe.

 

Kyungsoo’s hand is light but firm against Baekhyun’s jaw, fingers curling just around the back of his neck as he keeps their lips pressed.

 

That burning sensation is back again, right under Baekhyun’s bloom as he finally kisses Kyungsoo back softly. His lips are smooth and warm, just as soft as they look, and Baekhyun’s heart feels like it’s about to burst as they pull away, their foreheads resting against each other.

 

It only lasted a few seconds, but not near long enough.

 

That’s when Baekhyun catches it just out of the corner of his eye. There, outstretched within their small space, as full and lively as ever, is Baekhyun’s bloom, coiled tightly with Kyungsoo’s.

 

Baekhyun never knew this could happen. He never heard of this ever being a thing, _ever_. To see the stems wrap around one another and cling with desperation makes Baekhyun flush and his heart light as he dives right back in for more, and catches Kyungsoo back onto his lips again, pulling him in close, feeling right where he needs to be.

  
  
  


— — —

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun scratches out the words he has written down on the notebook in front of him and pushes himself from his place in front of his piano, letting the momentum carry him the short distance back to his desk where he types a few notes to himself to review later and situates himself back in front of the piano again, playing a few chords, tries singing a few lines of what he’s been working on to match it, and feeling satisfied with what he’s come up with, jots it down messily along the margins of his notebook on his music stand before moving back to the desk again.

 

His eyes trail over to the picture frame on the corner of his desk. It’s a picture of him all dressed up in his cap and gown on graduation day, his mom standing proudly on one side, Kyungsoo on the other.

 

He made it. Barely.

 

It was a lot of sleepless nights, and cramming, and ridiculous amounts of caffeine carrying him through his days. But also a lot of Kyungsoo. A lot of ranting, some crying, calling him just to yell about how he was really tempted to just throw it all away.

 

Baekhyun knew from the day he got his bloom that he’d end up driving them up the walls with his frustration in his final year of school. Kyungsoo took it all, though. He listened to everything Baekhyun had to say, just like he always has. He hugged him when he was red in the face from anger, wiped his tears when he talked about wanting to quit, and encouraged him to finish off these last few months every single time.

 

Chanyeol was right, so was Sehun. Literally everyone around him was right about him needing Kyungsoo to take this weight off of him. Even his mother, who Baekhyun tried to hide his worries and frustrations from since forever, was right.

 

Now that’s over though, that he’s finally made it, got his stupid degree in music theory, he has more than enough time to work on his own music, to immerse himself completely in what he finds passion in, and to work away at it tirelessly.

 

Baekhyun goes back and forth between his computer and the keyboard until he finally manages to come up with something that could be worth improving on. He plays it all back to himself little by little, slowly chipping away at it while he hums the melody quietly as his fingers drift over the keys, pulling him and making him completely lose track of his surroundings.

 

So when two arms fall just onto his shoulders and over his chest, he gets a pretty big scare.

 

“Fuck! When the hell did you get here?”

 

“Mm, just now.” Kyungsoo hums, “You’re lucky Sehun is so nice, otherwise I’d probably be waiting on you all night.” Kyungsoo nuzzles his face into Baekhyun’s neck and takes a deep breath, “How long have you been working on all this, anyway? It sounds pretty.”

 

“I dunno,” Baekhyun smiles as his eyes fall to look at the still black and white keys under his fingers, “I lost track of time…”

 

“Have you eaten?” His voice is warm against Baekhyun’s skin and it sends a shiver down his spine,

 

Baekhyun leans back into his chair, lifting a hand to run though Kyungsoo’s hair, “What do you think?”

 

Kyungsoo sighs, “Judging by how you don’t even know what time it is…”  

 

“That’s a good thing though, right? It means I’m motivated and enjoying myself.”

 

Kyungsoo stands up, and straightens himself. Cold air occupies the place where Kyungsoo was just seconds ago,  “It also means you’re not taking care of yourself. Take a break, come on.”

 

Baekhyun pushes his lips out into a pout as he stands up, only for it to be kissed away by Kyungsoo as he leads them to get some food and pretty soon Kyungsoo is curled on one side of Baekhyun’s bed, watching while he finishes up his work at his computer.

 

“Did you hear back from that studio yet?”

 

Kyungsoo’s questions comes out a lot more hopeful than it probably should. Baekhyun ended up not signing with the studio that contacted him about being interested in him and his music.

 

Baekhyun pauses to take the question in, wondering if it’s really worth it to answer. He only shakes his head and continues with mixing sounds, trying to make a melody out of something, trying to do anything that could possibly distract him from the elephant in the room.

 

“What happened?”

Baekhyun can hear Kyungsoo shuffling on the bed and sitting up.

 

Baekhyun has no idea how to even begin to answer with why he chose not to sign. Something told him it was best not to, to wait and do more on his own and maybe something better would come around. Baekhyun really, truthfully doesn’t know.

 

He lets out a heavy sigh and slams his laptop closed, falling back into his chair and closing his eyes. Kyungsoo won’t be mad that he didn’t sign, even though he was hopeful. Surely he’ll understand. He always does.

 

Baekhyun stays quiet as he pushes himself up from his desk and walks over to his bed, falling straight down next to Kyungsoo.

 

“Baek, come on. What happened?”

 

Baekhyun groans and flips over to face the ceiling, and Kyungsoo, who looks at him with clear concern.

 

“I didn’t sign.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m sorry! I dunno what happened, Soo, something just told me it wasn’t a good idea right now. That maybe I should do my own thing for now and just wait for a little bit.”

 

It’s quiet between the two of them for a few seconds before Baekhyun can finally gather up the guts to continue, “I’m sorry I got your hopes up. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right then. I knew you were excited about this, probably more than I was I just… I couldn’t do it.”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes are soft as he looks down at Baekhyun. He knows he understands. A smile ghosts over his lips as he throws a leg over Baekhyun and straddles himself on his waist. He leans down to press a soft, lingering kiss to Baekhyun’ lips and it makes Baekhyun’s heart swell with the most genuine love for Kyungsoo. He doesn’t understand how one person can be so gentle, so full of the right things to say.

 

“Don’t be sorry." He smiles, "I’m glad you told me.”

"You can wait however long you want, Baekhyun. This is your career, you know what’s best for it and yourself. I just want you to be comfortable, and happy with what you do.”

 

“I’ll never understand how you stay so collected during shit like this.” Baekhyun deadpans, letting his hands rest on Kyungsoo’s waist for a few seconds before his fingers slip under the soft fabric and rub over his warm skin.

 

“Because, it isn’t that big a deal. You know what you want, and I know you’re going to work day and night just to get there.” Kyungsoo says, letting his hand come up to Baekhyun’s face and swipe the stray hair away from his eyes.

 

“And even through all that, I’ll still be here to tell you to take breaks, and do this,”  Kyungsoo leans back down to kiss Baekhyun again, a little harder this time, and it still makes Baekhyun’s bloom get hot on his skin. Baekhyun sighs into Kyungsoo’s mouth as they part, fingers tracing lightly along Kyungsoo’s back,   “Because I care too much about you to see you do anything dumb, but mostly because I want to be there to see you succeed in everything you do, because I know you can do it. You’re fearless.”

 

How the universe managed to work out the two of them together, how they somehow ended up in the same universe together will always totally shock Baekhyun. Sometimes he really doesn’t feel like he deserves Kyungsoo, but when he’s like this, all pink in the face and his lips a little shiny, Baekhyun will be a little (very) selfish.

 

It’s been a rocky few months, but Kyungsoo has never once doubted Baekhyun for a minute. Of all the times Baekhyun has showed up at his door in his pajamas after Kyungsoo was off work and held back tears while holding his dog in the middle of the kitchen floor while Kyungsoo made dinner, Kyungsoo never once did a double take or questioned Baekhyun unless he was truly trying to understand something.

 

He’s the reason Baekhyun didn’t sign that contract. He likes things the way they are now. Maybe at first it took a little bit of adjusting, but now, Baekhyun wouldn’t want it any way else. He wouldn’t want anyone else to fill up the spaces in his notebook where he writes his music, or have their bloom reach out and intertwine tightly around his own when their bodies press together.

 

Baekhyun wants to stay like this just a little longer. To admire him, and the person he is, for a little longer.

 

Even if that means forever, he’ll never let go of this. Of his muse. Of Kyungsoo, his soulmate.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Be sure to read the other works part of this fest as well! All the writers have worked really hard on their pieces, please give them your love !
> 
> If you want, you can follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/shuaversum), it's sometimes fun there. I do things and talk about stuff.
> 
> Also!!!! [This!!](https://images.app.goo.gl/7Egb7kEEqidZuyU19) is the flower of Kyungsoo and Baekhyun's bloom! It's a lisianthus~


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